Bittersweet Memories
by crizarah
Summary: She wasn't normal,but she was human.At least as far as she knows.So what was she doing chained to these...people?What people wear all black with some sort of...Wait, is that a shinigami captain's HAORI! She wasn't normal, but she was human. Not anymore.
1. The Beginning

**Whee~~! My first GinOC fic…my first Bleach fic for that matter!^.^ Kofa-chan got me so excited to see the tenth chapter of her fic "The Tail of a Fox and the Butterfly" that I somehow ended up with this XD (And yes, that's how long I've been delaying this chapter)**

**Anyway, tell me what you think and stuff. I have a lot of ideas for this but, like every other fic that comes into my mind that isn't written down immediately, they might suddenly scurry off. =.=**

_**--**_

_**Bittersweet Memories**_

_**Story Prologue: The End of the Beginning**_

_**--**_

She blinked. Once. Twice. Even _thrice._ The scene before her did not change at all. She stared.

And they stared right back.

"Holy motherfucking _shit_." Her nearly hissed statement made several brows rise, but she could care less. Hell, she was too busy gawking to even care. "Why the hell are all of the captains and lieutenants of the Gotei Thirteen here!?"

That definitely wasn't what they expected.

"You can see us?" a strawberry blonde girl with a fairly large chest asked, rather unnecessarily.

"Matsumoto Rangiku, jubantai fukutaichou," she whispered automatically, and received wary looks. "Oh _god_…"

A boy with a spiked up mop of snowy hair narrowed his eyes. "Speak when you are questioned, human."

It was her turn to raise her brow. "If you are indeed a tensai as they say, Hitsugaya Toshirou-_taichou,_ then you would have known the answer to that question as soon as Matsumoto's name escaped my lips."

The haughtily-stated (and logically accurate) statement made the prodigy shut up. He glared at her, trying to make her run for it – the main reaction people had with any captain. The rest were also sizing her up as well.

It all started on an annoyingly humid May evening. Actually, it was right smack in the middle of the night. Recently turned thirteen-year-old, Arieanne Laria woke up having a strong urge to take a shower. While it cooled her down somewhat, she ended up being fully awake as opposed to just half. Annoyed, she straightened her blanket but left it spread out on the bed. She couldn't risk tugging the part where her mother's hand lay; it might wake her up.

Never was there a time when she complained of the room assignments when they moved to the house they currently resided in. Not that she had a choice. The eldest had her reclaimed her old room as soon as they had set foot on their grandparents' ancestral home; the second eldest picked Louise's godmother's former room; her five-year-older brother picked the one with a mirror occupying the whole wall; and the maid got the room between the eldest and the third. So where was she going to stay? The bathroom? Not even bothering to argue for the last room, the one with the mirrors (which was originally supposed to be hers. And the utterly vain owner was the one supposed to take the spot beside their mother…She wasn't the maternal parent's favorite, for crying out loud!)

Sometimes, the pecking order annoyed her.

And sometimes, her own nonchalant attitude about almost everything annoyed her as well.

So when she was busy reading a wonderful story about a certain fox-faced captain and an original character named _Mamori Yumi _she did not pay attention to the sudden fluctuation in the electricity. She was annoyed when the speakers were affected, but that was all. She did not care that she was in a fifty-something old house where both her grandparents and great grandparents had had their final moments, all alone in the same floor that said event happened.

She did, however, mind the noises her ears picked up from the room she and her mother shared. And she undoubtedly felt _something _in there.

Arieanne twitched. If she swiped away the curtain that separated the said room from the living room and found nothing, it would count as her fifth semi-serious 'encounter' with supernatural beings in the middle of the night in the first year that they moved here.

And so, when she finally decided to stop reading, enough to pull herself out of the non-too-comfortable chair, Arieanne was determined to 'talk' to Them like her sisters had said. She would snap at the Things, whatever they were, and tell them to stop bothering her while she was doing something (as she always was).

She had no idea that the harmless-looking curtain was all that separated her from twenty-six high-ranking shinigami.

"I've been staring at you for nearly five solid minutes, and I still can't believe what I'm seeing." Arieanne shook her head and sighed, only to tense seconds later. "Shit, I think my sister's coming down."

"Who are you?" a long-raven-haired captain asked. The look he was giving Arieanne was enough to make most people scream and faint on the spot. Too bad for him she wasn't _most people._

"You should hide," the girl said, not even giving any indication of hearing the sixth squad captain's inquiry. "Somewhere my mother won't see you if she wakes up…"

"That is not necessary. Normal people do not have the ability to see us," an elderly person reassured.

"With all due respect Yamamoto-Genryuusai Shigekuni, I really think you should move." Her dark orbs trailed on her mother's sleeping form. "In a lot of ways, our family doesn't really qualify the _normal people _category."

"Finally, you're acknowledging that fact yourself."

Arieanne froze, and so did the twenty-six hakama-clad people. Slowly, almost mechanically, she turned, and found her eldest sister smiling at the doorway. She was already wearing her sleeping attire, shorts and a spaghetti strap top, and she was holding a plastic of something.

"Took you long enough." With her smile transforming into a smirk, she dug into the plastic and held out three big bags of chips. "Thirteen bloody years. As a reward, you get one."

Arieanne stared, something she actually rarely did, at her sister. "You're not going to tell me you don't see anyone."

"You won't believe me even if I did," was the nonchalant reply. "Besides, if you were pertaining to the twenty…six people behind you in the weird black…" Her eyes narrowed. "Soul Reapers?"

Like the rest of the people, err souls, behind her, Arieanne continued staring. "Should I or should I not ask?"

Her sister gave her a look. "You said so yourself. Our family is far from normal. If they are what I think they are, the only person in this house who won't see them is the maid. And the one with the second weakest spiritual abilities."

"For someone who's always his ally, you talk of him as if…" Arieanne shook her head. "I _really _should get used to stuff like this, ne?"

Her sister stepped into the room and passed an observing look at their…guests. "Move over, I'm going to talk to mommy. And if either of you are here to wait for her to pass, you're going to have to pass through us first."

"Pass through…?" Arieanne blinked several times before a look of recognition was seen on her face. "Hey! How the hell am _I _supposed to be a match for them??"

"Simple. I've seen the stuff you have." Her sister gave her a look that told her all she needed to know. She wasn't talking about some nonexistent mysterious ability that ran in their family. No, she was talking about the DVD in a pile under the TV. The DVD of 125 episodes of Bleach anime series. And she expected her to know all of their weaknesses. Oh joy. "Now shoo. And Anne, you better set up a field to cut off their…what do they call it?"

"Reiatsu." Arieanne's unhesitating answer earned her different looks from the captains. "And how the…How am I supposed to do that?"

"What were you going to say?" Her sister's silky voice had her shaking her head rapidly. Arieanne thanked whatever higher power made her sister drop the subject. "I don't know. I'm not the one scaring the wits out of people by suddenly appearing behind, beside, at the corners, or wherever we are."

"I don't 'suddenly appear'. I walk. Like any normal human being." The reaction this statement elicited from the elder made her change it. "Like any _human._"

She opened her mouth as if to speak, but stopped. "Hey, I hear _Iris_."

"Iris?" Arieanne blinked and listened. Sure enough, the song was playing on the speakers.

_**And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming…Or the moment of truth in your lies…When everything feels like the movies…Yeah, you bleed just to know you're alive…**_

"Nice lyrics," a hulking man with a scar on his left eye and a patch on his right commented. His hair was spiked up, with bells at each of the seven tips. The grin on his face more than told everyone that he was only referring to the last part of the verse.

Arieanne coughed. "Okay…that aside, can you guys move into the living room?"

"I can still feel them," her sister called out as soon as the curtain moved.

The youngest child swiped away the cloth and hissed, "Keep it down! You're going to wake her up!"

"Well do whatever it is you have to do," she shrugged. "And you can call her 'Mommy' like the rest of us. Your sister hates her but she calls Mommy that."

"I don't hate her."

Everyone, even the shinigami, tensed at the voice – someone was descending the carpeted stairs and making its way to them. Arieanne sighed when she realized who it was.

"Okay, now only the brother is missing," she muttered. She looked around and flicked open the living room light. Quite expectedly, the second sister's brow rose. "Don't say anything."

She pursed her lips and smirked. "I won't. Well, why don't we hide their…reiatsu…so Angel can do whatever it is she wants?"

"Nice arrangement; the one with the most honed spiritual abilities and the one who has the least among the three females." With a flourish, the eldest of the three turned and went back to the master's bedroom.

None of them noticed the youngest twitch. Nope, absolutely no one.

And no, absolutely no one saw her yelp and jump when the middle child's face suddenly popped out in front of her. And in turn, no one saw her land flat on her butt. And Gin isn't a fox-faced sadist.

"Did you really have to do that?" Arieanne muttered as she stood rolling her shoulders and neck, the only sign of her earlier embarrassment. "On second thought, don't answer that. I'm not in the mood to receive sadistic comments at the moment."

"Wat'cha talkin' 'bout? I'm innocent," the older smirked.

"Ye'r givin' me a serious doubtin' o' my own sanity, makin' imitations of someone else's accent 'n all. It don't help tha' ya both have th' same freakin' personality," Arieanne drawled, staring pointedly at the silver-haired captain of the third division.

The perfect imitations of his accent, even if he had yet to speak, made the man's grin widen. "How'd ya know 'bout my speech patterns 'n stuff?"

"Believe me, you don't want to know," Arieanne said in her normal flat voice, shook her head and walked past a captain with a weird-looking mask. Without even taking a glance at her sister, she said, "Before you ask me what I'm doing, I'm going just going to turn down the volume of the speakers."

"I can still feel them!"

Clucking her tongue in annoyance, the raven-haired girl plopped back down in front of the computer and stared intently at the screen. She looked up at the sudden silence. "Problem?"

"I thought you said you didn't know how to do this?" the eldest asked, peeking out of the curtain. "It's like you're not even there. Plus I can feel Anne's presence in the bathroom and…how'd you turn on the bathroom faucet with you there?"

"You said so yourself. Our family is far from normal." It was now Arieanne turn to be stared at. "You don't live with that kind of environment and not learn things on your own."

The eldest frowned and went back to start a discussion with their mother.

"What's _her _problem?" the middle child asked with a raised brow.

Arieanne just shook her head. "They used to get people to teach her how to use her abilities. The rest of us had to discover ours on our own and develop by ourselves."

The middle child rolled her eyes. She turned to the shinigami. "I'm Bryce. You guys are the captains and lieutenants of the Thirteen Protection Squads right? Really nice to meet you. Wait, where's Rukia?"

If only to cover the extensive silence that followed, Arieanne coughed. "Rukia is an unseated officer, by Byakuya's request." Following her sister's proclamation of understanding and inquiry as to who the rest are, she pointed the members of the Gotei Thirteen one by one.

"Captain of the first division and leader of the Gotei Thirteen, Yamamoto-Genryuusai Shigekuni. Sorry, I don't know your fukutaichou.

"Second Division captain and leader of onmitsukidou, Soi Fong. She used to be Yoroichi's…dedicated…lieutenant. Still don't know your lieutenant.

"Your oh-so-favorite person and the one with whom you share that dreadful personality of yours, Ichimaru Gin. His lieutenant is Kira Izuru. Both are of the third division."

Bryce stared at her. "You're talking as if we don't share the same…trait."

"I've long since dropped the smile sis." Arieanne bent her knees and sat cross-legged on the chair, leaning back. "Geez, it's so freakin' hot."

The elder sister wordlessly made her way to the fan and opened it. "Don't remind me. It's one of the reasons why we've stopped being called twins."

"_Right_. Twins that are seven years apart," the girl snorted. "Anyone with half a brain, scientifically-oriented or not, would know that's not possible. And besides, we're like Yin and Yang."

"You're taking our physical differences too seriously," the other grinned. "Just because you were sun-baked from all that stuff you do outside, we're not mistaken for each other anymore if we're not on the phone."

"Not really, it used to be such a pain being mistaken for _both _my elder sisters." She smirked when she saw the hurt look on her sister's face. "I shouldn't be reminding you that sadism runs in our family. And it is because of that that I rather enjoy having striking similarities with you." The latter blinked, not getting it. The youngest of four stood to get water. "Translation: people on my side that do that are now afraid to go anywhere near two people similar to each other."

Bryce snickered. "Atta kid."

"Hn." She went back to her original post and sat facing the bewildered and/or bemused shinigami. "Continuing the introductions…

"Fourth division captain, Unohana Retsu. The fourth division is Seiritei's medical center. Still don't know who your …Wait, I think I _do _know her…Lavender-tinted silver hair, fidgety, and a woman…Yeah, I think so…Ah! Kotetsu Isane! Yeah, I _do _know her.

"Another one of your favorites, Aizen Sousuke, with Hinamori Momo, taichou and fukutaichou of the fifth division, respectively…" Here Arieanne paused and regarded the kind-looking bespectacled man. "Y'know, I think you have a penchant for twisted people."

"Runs in the family," Bryce waved it off. "Next is Rukia's brother, right?"

"You're all about Rukia, but I'm surprised you even remember the way her brother looks like." Adrieanne looked at her sister with an arched brow. "The name's Kuchiki Byakuya, captain of the sixth squad. If you remember him, I'm pretty sure you remember his fukutaichou."

"Mm," her sister nodded. "The one with all the stuff tattooed on his body."

"That's Abarai Renji," she confirmed. "Moving along. I have no idea about the seventh division officers. The eighth squad…"

"Problem?" her older sister asked when the girl paused and pursed her lips. "Can't you remember the name of Mr. Flirty and the girl?"

Arieanne twitched. "_You _try watching multiple anime to keep your sanity while memorizing theorems and postulates, drilling the lengthy History stuff in your head, while trying to comprehend an aged poem that I can barely read without twitching every two minutes."

"Want me to show you?" she sneered.

"No need," was the immediate retort. "I just remembered. Ise Nanao is the lieutenant. Captain is Kyouraku Shunsui. Ninth division captain is Tousen Kaname. Don't know his…oh wait, the lieutenant is Hisagi Shuuhei. The former captain of the ninth division, don't know his name, saved him before a hollow ate Shuuhei's soul. That's why he got the tattoo of 69 on his cheek. The guy used to have his on the…stomach, I think. That was right before he was hollowfied. Or something."

She smirked when she felt the suspicious looks of the other captains. "Tenth division captain is the so-called 'tensai', Hitsugaya Toushirou. I think you used to call him Shiro-chan because of his age and hair. But I really don't need to tell you that he's way older than he looks, right? …Or not. Matsumoto Rangiku is his vice captain. Eleventh squad captain is the one you dubbed the 'Fighting Freak', Zaraki Kenpachi, and the really cute pink kid, Yachiru. I keep forgetting her last name."

Her sister gasped. "How could you forget such a cute kid's name?? And it's not as if you're any different from her when you choose to act like a kid."

Arieanne chose to disregard her sister's exaggeration and went on with the informal introduction. "The captain and vice captain of the 12th division are Kurotsuchi Mayuri and Kurotsuchi Nemu. The 12th division, although scary, is the Bureau of Technology.

"Finally, the captain of the 13th division is Ukitake Jyuushirou. He doesn't have a vice captain because the last one died, and he hasn't approved of anyone yet."

"Soo…did I forget anything?" Arieanne asked, looking around. The shinigami were looking at her with varying expressions – amusement, caution, and of course, the ever-present interest. Her sister looked sadistically happy – of course count on her to be like that.

Bryce dropped a bag of spicy-flavored chips in front of her sister. "They're wondering how you knew all those stuff."

The teen scanned the officials. "If it weren't such a logical conclusion to come up with, considering the current circumstances, I'd be saying that they're wondering how _you _knew what they were thinking. Which some of them are."

The elder shook her head, watching in amusement as the youngest shut down the computer (maybe because the story she was reading had "Ichimaru G." showing right below the title?) and retrieve a set of DVDs. And don't forget the spiral notebook and blue pen.

"With all the stuff you take note of, you'd think you wanted to become a scientist or something," she commented as Arieanne set up.

"I probably would have considered it if you guys didn't snatch the opportunity away from me before I got a chance to butt in," the younger retorted dully. "Now get back to sleep. If I remember correctly, you're meeting a client at eight. It's already four, go back to sleep."

"I didn't tell you about that," the older frowned.

Not even bothering to bat an eyelash, or look at her elder sister for that matter, Arieanne settled herself on one of the chairs in the spacious room. "Sister dear, you're forgetting that I dream about random trivial things."

"…"

She looked to her right when she felt something shift. Her sister was looking at her contemplatively. She raised her brow.

"One of my friends told me…You'd be a lady killer if you were born a boy," Bryce stated slowly. "I was just reminded of that fact because you sound so like…one of the sexy characters in that anime you watch."

"Which one?"

"The one with a whole plate of bishounen."

"Again, which one?"

"…The one with lots of sports."

"Should I repeat that?"

"Tennis?"

Arieanne tore her eyes away from the opening animations of the third DVD of X Series, also known as X Project or X/1999. "That particular anime is called _Tennis no Oujisama. _I'll leave the _why _to you."

"Dreamseer or not, that talent is utterly useless if you don't hone it."

The sudden declaration made everyone in the room arch their brow in some manner. Arieanne herself was looking at her sister once again. "I'm perfectly fine with what I'm given. And it's not like I don't try. This past year I've been able to summon _visions, _not dreams. My abilities are under my control."

"Which went haywire and was practically reduced to nothing after your breakup with that boyfriend-on-a-whim of yours," was the sneering retort of the older. Seeing her sister rigid like that, the expression on Bryce eyes softened. She sighed and made to return to her room upstairs after taking a pitcher of water with her.

Not without leaving a cryptic advice, of course.

"Continue like that and you won't survive this family's competition in everything and anything."

_**--**_

Arieanne smirked as the ending credits of the anime she was watching flashed through the screen. "Fascinating. Bloody fascinating."

She took a deep breath and eyed the rest of the living room's occupants. Some of them were dozing off; some had watched the show with her, and some of them…

…Were drooling with hunger?

Sighing, she went to retrieve a vacant mini-table and filled it with food. She then put it in front of the twenty-six people, saying one word: "Eat."

"We can't eat human food," the short – err, _young _– captain stated bluntly.

"It's spirit food. Made of spirit particles," she said with the same candor. "It's your choice whether you want to starve to death. I don't know about you but I don't really want the death of _Death Gods _be from starvation."

Yep, that shut him up real quick.

Arieanne yawned and looked at the golden hexagonal clock hanging above their heads. Six thirty. "Time to get moving, then. I don't want to still be here by the time they wake up."

"Ye'r talkin' as if ya hate 'em." By the accent alone, one could instantly guess who had said it. But one never knows, in that household full of sadomasochistic copycats…

"I don't. Self-exile," she shrugged, watching as Renji picked up his food and went for one of the three French doors, one sliding door, and the pretty normal kitchen door. "My choice."

A raised brow from one of the few that had not jumped for the food. A certain ice block of a captain. "Why?"

"It's not good for competition," was the nonchalant reply. "Though of course there's still a need to put the acting abilities to the test and pretend to be the family type. Which I'm not, with the exception of – Renji! What the hell??"

Her sudden exclamation caused everyone to look at her and the subject of her outburst. The redhead was sprawled face-first onto the floor, a length of chain dangling from a metal ring on his neck. Arieanne's mouth formed a thin line to suppress the strangled cry forming at the back of her throat as her eyes trailed on the chain.

Which ended on one of her digits.

"_Por amor de dios, mi vida es loca_," she muttered, closing her eyes. (For the love of God, my life is a mess.)

"Oi, why the sudden need to speak in Spanish?" As usual, her sister had taken it upon herself to surprise her sister and her 'guests' by suddenly popping out of nowhere. And one would think any one of the twenty-six shinigami would sense her.

"_¡ Mierda !_" (Shit!) the poor frustrated teenager hissed. "You scared me. I totally forgot about your existence."

While the rest were eyeing her in obvious amusement, the second child of the oh-so _normal _family casually observed from the stairway. From each of her sister's fingers and _toes_, a chain connected to one of the souls there. The teenager had a cuff on each of her wrists and ankles connecting to Kira, Ukitake, Byakuya, and Unohana, respectively. Her waist was encircled by a metal structure similar to that on her neck and her limbs. That one was connected to Aizen. The one on her neck was attached to the silver-haired fox-face.

"Um, what's happening here?"

_Greeeaaat._

Twitching, Arieanne looked at the higher levels of the carpeted stairs. The eldest. (When did she get out of the room!? And _when _did she return upstairs? Bloody hell, it was giving the youngest a migraine) Oh wow. What next? Her brother?

"Should I be happy that we can see each other and _talk _without anyone trying to kill or maim somebody, or is somebody already doing that?"

She twitched and risked a glance at the concealed back stairs right behind the sink and beside the other bathroom. Her year-older brother was standing there, hand casually on the wall beside him for support. Drowsy eyes and messed up hair or not, he still looked striking.

Rangiku swooned.

Arieanne coughed to break the lengthy silence that followed. Somehow, she found herself doing that quite often in the past – oh I don't know – three hours? "Based on everyone's locations, don't you think the logical answer to that is right in front of you?"

Her brother fixed her with one of his early morning glares. "I thought you said logic wasn't your thing."

"And I also said Science wasn't. But lookie here, I'm better at it than you are and you're _the _renowned hunky-prodigy-of-sorts that excels in said subject," the girl all but sneered. She smirked when she saw the expressions on the others' faces. "Now excuse me while I rid my stomach of its contents."

Lance, her brother blinked. "That was pretty good."

"Excuse me?" A raised brow.

"You actually have something in that skull of yours."

Twitch. "Excuse me? If I remember correctly, _I _have always had better standings than _thou_."

"Okay, the two of you. We'd just like to remind you that murder isn't legal in our country, and that it's hard to hide a bloodied corpse." Before anyone was actually maimed, the two elders quickly cut in. Angel walked over to Lance's side, and Bryce took Arieanne's. From the looks of things, it was pretty evident that that was the usual case.

"Actually, I have a few _ideas _about _not _having to hide corpses," the youngest smirked. Several shinigami shuddered upon seeing the look on her face.

"That, I hope, you won't be elaborating on, anytime soon," Bryce chastised.

Arieanne just shrugged and turned. "Whatever. Dibs on the masters' bathroom. I have dance practice."

The second child eyed her suspiciously. "Did you sleep?"

"Not at all."

"Che, whatever. _I'm _using that bathroom," the only boy declared. Everyone gave him blank looks for showing his holier-than-thou attitude so early in the morning.

"One word Lance: Atobe." The two elders looked at Arieanne in confusion, while the only boy looked to be gloating.

"I'm fine with that. He's pretty good-looking, according to people; he doesn't have a vice captain so that's a testimony to his leadership skills; he sits at the top of two hundred other Hyotei players; he's the only son of a bloody rich family; and his skills are top-notch." Yep, the vain guy was gloating. "And I've got two words for you Anne: Shut the bloody hell up."

It took a whole second for him to recognize the sound of stifled laughter.

"What?" he asked in that perfect imitation of Atobe. And pulling it off without even trying.

The eldest was laughing, the second was snickering, and the youngest had a very amused look on her face. It was the nocturnal creature that explained the situation to her ignorant brother. "First off, you said _five _words. Second, you're holding up _three _fingers. And third, you just humiliated yourself in front of all these people."

"All these…?" Lance frowned. "Is there anybody here that I'm not seeing?"

The laughter died immediately.

"You don't see or feel anyone or anything at all?" the eldest inquired with a raised brow. "I expected a lot more from you."

"I told you Anne wasn't the one with the lowest abilities."

Said person twitched. Did gloating run in their family much like everything else? "Oi, get moving. Bryce, you have an appointment at eight. It's seven thirty."

The person she got along with out of her three siblings stared at her, blinking.

"Meaning you're _late_. Again."

"_Ficken Sie!_" (Fuck!) the girl cursed in German and ran up the stairs to get her effects.

Arieanne turned to the eldest. "You're supposed to be in the office by nine and you take a whole hour to bathe. Plus dressing up and whatever it is you do to get ready."

"Y'know Anne, not everyone in the family is a tomboy like you," Lance drawled, smirking in a fashion that caused several black-clad females to swoon.

"I was supposed to say not everyone in this family is as vain as you but that, unfortunately, is not the case," the youngest stated bluntly. She looked at the child preceding her. "And _you _have classes at ten, take two hours _at least _to prepare, and your travel time averages twenty minutes. Do the math."

She was met with another blank stare.

"Meaning _all _of us are running late for our appointments, meetings, classes and practices, respectively." As recognition dawned on her older brother's face, she commented, "For someone dubbed as 'the smartest male in their batch', you're pretty slow."

Her brother twitching in annoyance made another triumphant smirk appear on her features. "Oi, not because you have more brains than I do, means you can gloat about it!"

The room went silent.

The triumphant look on Arieanne's face was replaced by a series of blinks. "Eh?"

Bryce chose that very moment to prance down the stairs and dump a set of clothes on the dumbfounded kid's head. "Hey, did I just hear Lance compliment you?"

"I…guess?" The youngest child's lips curled up into an _innocent _feral smile as she recovered from her initial shock. Lance sputtering somehow pulled her back to reality and made her recognize the opportunity. "I didn't know you thought that."

"I don't. But now that it's out, I might as well say it. Don't you dare inflate that already swelling ego of yours," the older teen scowled.

Arieanne's smirk widened.

Lance huffed. "Among the four of us, you've got the best brains. The best talents. The best of everything. You've been saying things like _monosodium glutamate _ever since fourth grade when I only got to know about that in third year. And you pick up stuff fastest. You don't even study for exams."

The expression on Arieanne's face was enough to make even Byakuya back off. "Sweet bloody heavens, somebody give me a recorder!"

Lance ignored his sister and said the last one glaring at her. "And if you _had _entered that school when I did, I was afraid that _you_'d overshadow me, like what happened in our previous school."

She whistled. "Really? …Wait, _when _did _I _overshadow _you_?"

A trademark Laria glare. "Your teachers see you borrowing an_ eight hundred paged book _at recess and return it at lunch. And when they ask you about it, you give them an elaborate explanation. You make some boys and a majority of the _girls _drool when you feel like talking back then. You don't even touch your books during exams; you _sleep _the whole bloody day!!"

Bryce stared at him. "And? All of the things you mentioned are more or less expected from us."

"Still do, actually," Angel chirped.

Lance looked at the eldest, horrified that she had taken _her _side. "She bloody graduated with high honors!!"

This time, it was Arieanne who blinked. "Thank you, but I don't think I have to remind you that not doing so would mean a total disappointment to…I don't really know…everyone?"

Another awkward silence.

"Do I really have to be the one to _always _remind _everyone _of their appointments?" the youngest teenager seethed.

And that was all it took to detract their attention from her merits to the problem of who gets to use which bathroom.

"I'm using the masters!" the eldest called.

"I'm using that one!"

"Dibs on the masters after Angel," Lance smirked.

Arieanne just stared blankly at all of them. "We have three bloody bathrooms, people."

There was silence, and the youngest of them could very much imagine tumbleweeds passing by somewhere nearby.

"Nobody bloody heard me," she muttered, turning to get her things.

"I'm using the Masters!"

"No, I am!"

"Nope, I am!"

All four siblings glared (in Arieanne's case, stared) at the others. Finally, Angel came up with a solution that ended the bickering, whether they agreed with it or not.

"Pecking order."

Bryce winced.

Lance grimaced.

Arieanne twitched.

"Damn."

_**--**_

"Wow, you're already dressing up. You've always been the fastest when it comes to things like this. Wonder why though. You're the one least late for anything. Except when it's with us," Bryce rambled from behind the curtain of the room Arieanne shared with their mother. She was watching the shinigami, who, fortunately, had chains long enough to keep them out of the room while her sister put on her clothes. "You done yet?"

Long-nailed fingers pushed aside the curtain. "Why?"

The elder eyed her sister's outfit with a critical eye. Casual black jeans snitched from Bryce's very own wardrobe and never returned, white super flats with black markings, and a loose collared blue top. "Why aren't you wearing the stuff I got for you?"

"Because I'm going to a practice, not a party," Arieanne answered dryly, stepping out to use the full length mirror. A quick peek over her shoulder revealed the reason for her unusual act; Lance was hogging the full length mirror in their room. "He has a bloody mirror occupying a whole bloody wall in his bloody room. Why doesn't he bloody use it??"

"To annoy the hell out of you?"

She didn't even bother to bat an eyelash at her sister's _innocent _reply.

Bryce looked at the shinigami still chained to her sister. Said sister parted her hair exactly thirty degrees from the middle, ran a comb through the thinner side thrice, did the same on the thicker side, and swept them back with another down the partition. "Are you planning to take them with you?"

"What other choice do I have?"

The manner in which Arieanne answered made her twitch. The girl even had the nerve not to look at her and mind breakfast. _Breakfast! _"_I_'ve never seen you practice."

"Jealous?" The girl looked up from her breakfast with a smirk already in place. "You've seen me perform…_on the very front of the bloody runway_."

"Testament to your skills," the older grinned proudly.

"You're so cheesy."

Bryce pouted. "I want my sister back."

Aizen, who was listening to their conversation, looked at them. He traded glances with Gin.

"Sorry, girl went on a vacation around seven years ago and hasn't returned ever since." Arieanne didn't bother to look up to see the injured look on her sister's face. "Try calling her back, but I doubt that would work."

A moment of blissful silence.

"Should I say it?" Bryce blinked at her sister's sudden question. "You're late. Translation: _estas muerto, señorita._" (You're dead, miss.)

"Shimatta!" (Crap! – Japanese) the elder gasped. She gave her sister a warning glare – that wasn't really working since she was cramming stuff into a large red leather bag. "I expect you to wear what I dumped into your hands this morning. If you don't want to wear it while practicing, bring something to wear. But put it back on once you're done. That said...I'm going!"

Arieanne did nothing but blink at her as she rushed out of the house. "_Why _does she do this to me?"

A loud "_Adios!" _was heard before the tall gates slammed shut.

Arieanne sighed, finished her breakfast and headed back to the room. Because they had nothing else to do, the shinigami followed her. The maternal parent was asleep once again. The teenager reached over the sleeping adult and retrieved the money the maternal parent left in the brief moment that she was awake.

Sighing, she picked up the bundle that Bryce literally dumped on her head earlier. The outfit consisted of strappy silver step-ins, cream pants, and a long sapphire blue blouse. Arieanne blinked at the last article of clothing. It looked like something a model might wear on the red carpet. And it did not help that there were silver accessories placed neatly in the pocket of the pants.

At least Bryce had kept in mind that she had long ago abandoned light-colored outfits. But she still had a pressing issue at hand.

"Bryce," Arieanne hissed, "_¡ Yo mataria tu !_" (I'm going to kill you! - Spanish)


	2. End of the Beginning

**I broke it up into smaller chapters…XD**

_**--**_

_**Prologue Part II**_

_**--**_

"_**Bryce," Arieanne hissed, "**__**¡ Yo mataria tu !**__**" (I'm going to kill you! - Spanish)**_

_**--**_

"_I believe that when I die I shall rot, and nothing of my ego will survive. I am not young, and I love life. But I should scorn to shiver with terror at the thought of annihilation. Happiness is nonetheless true happiness because it must come to an end, nor do thought and love lose their value because they are not everlasting._" Arieanne inwardly shivered at the smile Aizen was giving her as he read the handwritten quote on the cover of the notebook she was putting inside her bag. "Isn't this a bit too powerful a saying for someone your age?"

In the presence of the other captains, the teenager knew she would die if she mentioned anything about the fifth captain's manipulative character. Literally. "Quote from Bertrand Russell. I'm amazed you didn't see it posted in my room; it's right where I can see it first thing in the morning."

"So it's just a quote," Hitsugaya mimicked, easily keeping the swift pace the girl had set when they began walking.

"You can say it's a verbalization of my…perspectives. My sister's as well," she added as an afterthought.

"That…thing with your siblings." The rest of the shinigami, if not talking amongst themselves or keeping quiet, were looking around her in awe. The eighth squad captain was one of the few who were actually talking to her. "Is that an everyday occurrence?"

Arieanne patiently waited for a public utility vehicle to come her way. "Seeing as we rarely see each other, much less _interact_, I think it's safe to say no."

Renji looked at her in surprise. "Doesn't seem that way."

"On an average school year, we see each other twelve percent of the time," the girl drawls. Someone looked their way and looked at the crazy kid talking to nobody but herself. Said crazy kid gave him a look that terrorized him and made him run to the next block. "About half of that is the percentage for decent interactions."

Kira had to back away from her. "So, Laria-san, you're saying that you don't see your siblings often. You must be lonely then."

The way the girl looked at him prevented anyone from bringing up the topic again. Coincidentally, the vehicle she rode had no other passengers other than her – and the souls generally unseen.

By the time they got to their destination an hour and a half later, more than several of them were asking just _why _she was going to a practice held roughly fifteen kilometers from her house.

_**--**_

Hitsugaya was staring so much Rangiku had to poke him several times. But that was better than his gawking earlier; that time, his lieutenant actually had to close his hanging jaw. But why _shouldn't _he stare? Heck, even _Byakuya _was staring and that alone was something to gawk about.

But the question was: Why were they staring at teenage _human__**s dance**_??

The fact that the music said humans were dancing to was _'Sugar' _of Flo Rida did not help at all.

The young captain had to tear his orbs away from a certain someone's grinding hips. _Wait, __**what!?**_

"Oi, you two! Would you stop that showdown already??" one of the older students twitched. "My sides hurt just looking at you. What are you anyway, a bunch o' boneless worms?"

"Worms don't have bones. They're invertebrates." Arieanne looked at the speaker and grinned. "Not like you're not much of a dancer yourself, Edmund."

The nearest effeminate upperclassman rolled his eyes and laid his head on the person beside him. "Daniel, your adoptive little sister is seducing me."

"Ehh??" the girl blinked, her eyes traveling from one upperclassman to another. She finally stopped doing the steps and rejoined them on the porch. The rest of their numbers were off doing things of their own, but she, Daniel, and his ever-adorable boyfriend had staked out the largest and comfiest couch. "Why'd I seduce my brother's boyfriend? And I'm his _sister_, not his _adoptive sister._"

A pout aimed at her general direction made her shiver. "You had a crush on me, remember?"

Several brows rose, and some actually grinned at the group Vice President's comment. "How's that for a nice comeback?"

"_Have _not _had_," the girl corrected, much to the amusement of those present. "I didn't say anything about that particular crush going away, ne?"

"Daniel!" he whined again, this time snuggling deeper into his lover's shoulder. "She's…oppressing me!"

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"Not."

"Too."

"Let's make _nii-san _the judge of this."

Both turned to poor Daniel for some sort of verdict.

Said person blinked.

Two sets of puppy-dog eyes were sent his way.

He grimaced.

"How about both of you try to stop killing me with looking so cute?" he finally asked. The others burst out laughing. "Really, you two are going to be the death of me one day."

"Nah, I'm going to be the first to die among us," the girl said with a grin. The room instantly went quiet. She raised her brow. "What?"

"Believe it or not, what you said was _just a tad bit _too uncomfortable to hear." The sound of sarcasm dripping from Daniel's words made Arieanne grin. "And it doesn't help to know that you have a sadomasochistic personality."

Half the people who heard blinked. "Sadomaso-what?"

Karen, the owner of the house they were wreaking havoc in – err, using for their practice – looked at the only biological girl in the trio. "Ria?"

"Sadomasochism. The combination of sadistic and masochistic elements in one person, characterized by both aggressive and submissive periods in relationships with others." The others looked at her with varying expressions. Arieanne sighed. "When will you guys stop using me as a bloody dictionary?"

"How about a thesaurus then?"

"How about I chuck this friendly piece of _solid _glass right to your face? It's shaped like a shoe, too," she chirped. The speaker inched away for the door. "And anyone who leaves early without a valid reason has to – "

"Okay!"

Arieanne smirked, toying with the neckline of her second shirt, a crimson red shirt that had her name at the back like the rest of the people in that club. "Well, are you guys done with your lunch break yet?"

"How about _your _lunch break?" The girl looked sheepishly at her 'older brother'. "I'm not going to sit here and watch you dance without you having your share of daily nutritional value beforehand."

Edmund blinked, drawled out a, "Hahh?"

"He just said for me to eat or else he won't let me join the crew," Arieanne shrugged. She looked down when she felt someone pulling her shirt and saw Yachiru with gleaming eyes. _Hungry _eyes. The red-clad human made a beeline for the now-vacant table. "Actually, I think I'm going to have some food. That's if I want to keep my strength. And my sanity."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that last part," her 'older brother' said in a sing-song manner.

Arieanne sighed and sat down. Not only did she have to face the wrath of an enraged brother if she didn't start taking care of herself, she also had to feed twenty-six spirits. Great, as if producing spirit-particle-d food was that easy.

"Is there a problem, Laria-san?" Ukitake asked in concern when he saw the look of concentration plastered on the human's face.

She let out a long breath and the table was instantly covered with what was to be their lunch. Yachiru immediately attacked the plate in front of her. "Sorry if I'm not creative. I just gave you what _they _had for lunch. And please, call me by my first name."

Aizen picked up his plate in an almost dainty manner. Arieanne shuddered when she felt his eyes on her. "Thank you then, Laria-san. It must be exhausting to conjure and compress this much spiritual particles on the human plane."

"It is," the girl murmured. "Especially if you've only been doing this for the past how many hours."

Edmund bounded up to them and casually draped his arm over her shoulder. "Who're ya talkin' to?"

"You should be used to me talking to nobody," she muttered dryly.

"Crabby." The Senior stuck his tongue out. He looked at her and grinned, suddenly giving the poor girl the feeling of being watched by the likes of Aizen. Which, by the way, she was. "Then maybe you should be used to me doing this, too."

Rangiku covered Hitsugaya's eyes. Gin's grin widened. Aizen and a few others had a slightly raised brow. Others had amused looks. Renji's mouth was wide open. Yachiru nearly dropped her plate if it she didn't know that every morsel of food took a lot out of the person who provided them.

Who was being kissed senseless by the last person she had been talking to.

"How's _that _for your first kiss?" Edmund purred when he finally pulled back.

The scarred girl stared at him. "Oh. My. _**DANIEL!!!**_"

"Oh my Daniel?" someone snickered. "Nice one. Someone would really think you three have a thing going."

"_Daniel!!_" Arieanne was screaming – in a not-so-feminine way. "Edmund kissed me! He _bloody kissed me!!!_"

The upperclassman was on the scene the first time the girl screamed for him. (That _so _did not look appropriate…) He was frantic to get to her, but otherwise calm. "What is it, sister??"

"Your bloody boyfriend just bloody _stole _my first bloody kiss, that's what!"

"Well, you see…She was looking pretty out of it so I thought I'd do her a favor and drag her back to earth. So I…"

Nobody moved as Edmund explained the whole event. Nobody even _tried _to get in between the completely passive upperclassman and the murderous girl, with the exception of Daniel himself and a few chairs. Had it been somebody else standing between the two, they would have been ripped to shreds.

"Bloody fantastic. My crush, coincidentally my _nii-san_'s boyfriend, just kissed me on the lips. My bloody first kiss. I could very bloody well die this instant," the girl said through gritted teeth. "What the _bloody hell _is _wrong _with me??"

"See? I just brought your beloved sister back," Edmund sang happily.

Daniel stared at them both. "Uhm, thank you?"

"You're not going to rip him to shreds, castrate him, and resurrect him only to torture him?" Arieanne asked through long lashes. "You're not mad at him for kissing me? You're not mad at me?"

The in-between raised his brow. "Should I be?"

Stares from all around the room, both from the living and the dead.

"For just kissing you, no. For taking away your innocence, maybe. Do you want me to?"

Edmund shook his head violently and shot the girl a pleading look.

"Uhh…" Arieanne was not as dumbstruck as the rest of them, but she was still speechless. It was the _not-so-_idle threat that got her talking again for the sake of the feminine upperclassman. She put on her best imitation of Kyouraku. "You're actually putting _me _and _innocence _in the same sentence?"

This time, Daniel was stunned as well. "Should I ask?"

"Not unless you want your sanity gone this early in your life."

_**--**_

Daniel looked at the two dancers up front with something akin to pride. The two grinned back. They continued dancing, with some of the people that came to watch…watching. Songs varying from _Boom Boom Pow, Sugar, Insomnia_, _Pokerface, The Rockafeller Skank, Under the Influence _and a lot of other things were randomly playing on the speakers.

And all the while, the shinigami were watching in amusement.

"You know for two people that always bicker over something or another, you make quite a bloody amazing pair on the stage," Karen commented. The resting dancers shared concurring nods and grins. "If all of us weren't well aware of Daniel and Edmund's relationship, we'd all think there was some…thing…going on between the three of you."

"_**Nanananannanananana nana nana….Translation: So you can suck my dick if you don't like my shit…'Cause I was high when I wrote this so suck my dick." **_Arieanne mouthed the lyrics of the song blaring over the speakers. She barely kept back a smirk from forming when she saw Rangiku covering an irate Hitsugaya's ears.

"Damn kid, I don't want to think of what your sister would do to you if she hears you saying that stuff," someone muttered, half in pity.

"Simple. She'd kill me. Well, try maiming me, anyway," the girl answered, not once losing to the effeminate dancer beside her. As their steps got more languid and full of waves, the tenth division lieutenant's hands moved over to cover her captain's eyes as well. Arieanne grinned. "That's what she did last time."

"Last time?" parroted the kisser beside her.

"Yep. Last time she made use of some of our grandfather's arrows. The bloody things were poisoned." She grimaced as she remembered. "Not that she succeeded in doing anything other than wreck a part of the lawn."

It was Karen's sadistic chuckle that finally made her break off from the steps and leap straight to Daniel's lap.

"So your sister took up archery, huh?" Edmund asked, quickly following. The girl nodded and continued sitting on the boy's lover's lap, effectively making the upperclassman twitch. "Oi, that's my property."

"Why don't you change already and head over to the venue of the contest already?" Daniel butted in before another war ensued between the two.

"_Nii-chan_'s right, y'know. Get outta my sight and get ye'r nice ass into the outfits for today," Arieanne quipped with a trademark Ichimaru grin. "I'm following after a while."

Karen leaned over her own chair to peer at the girl. "Why? You're usually the first to change."

Arieanne grinned mischievously. The older teens arched their brows when the girl bounded out and headed straight for the middle of the wide street. As if on cue, the thin sheen of rain turned into a downpour of huge water pellets. The rest followed her example and began filing out of the shelter of the wide garage and into the rain.

"There's a competition in three hours and you guys are soaking wet," Karen remarked dryly. "There might very well be a hurricane, for all we know."

Arieanne's playful retort had everyone else that had stayed behind running out the rain. "And I don't bloody care~~~!"

"None of you are getting on the bus in that condition," was the last thing their sponsor muttered before joining them out in the downpour.

The twenty-six shinigami looked in amusement as the lot started doing their dance number under the rain. The teens were all smiles as they deliberately splashed each other using their natural movements.

"It's good to be young," Kyouraku smiled. Like the rest of the empowered souls, he had a thin layer of reiatsu cover his skin so that he would not get wet when the chains caused them to move into the rain. "A nice lot, this one."

"I believe Laria-san enjoys their company," Aizen agreed. "And it seems as though she acts differently with them compared to how she acted with her siblings."

"That's entirely understandable. And dancing under the rain certainly seems pleasurable to them," Unohana said. Imagine the other captains' shock when they found the medical head actually approved of the teenagers' outrageous behavior.

"This is irresponsible. And they said so themselves that they had something to do later," the tenth division captain was mumbling. "I think this group is just insane."

"We~ll, it's nice to act insane from time to time," his lieutenant grinned. "I want to join too."

"You will not be partaking in such…lunacy," the white-haired captain commanded stiffly. As he left Rangiku to huff, he had the misfortune of catching Arieanne tugging off the black band that kept her long black hair in its ponytail.

The strawberry blonde giggled when she saw the boy's jaw drop at about the same time a flurry of black locks were released.

Ichimaru grinned at Hitsugaya's reaction. He returned his gaze to the teen frolicking under the rain. He turned to his own lieutenant. "Whatcha think, Izuru? She looks a whole lo' better under the rain, wit' 'er hair like tha' and 'er clothes stickin' to 'er skin, don't she?"

The sadistic fox very much enjoyed the blonde's sputtering.

_**--**_

Arieanne relaxed into the backseat of the cab. The contest had gone well and, though they had not won, she was going home with a grin.

And a bunch of high-ranking shinigami to boot.

"So that's another hour and a half going back," Renji muttered in the backseat.

"Can't we just use shunpo?" Even Hitsugaya dreaded the monotonous trip back.

"We're lucky that I chanced on this big a taxi," the human hissed silently as not to attract the driver's attention. "I can easily imagine you guys sitting on the bloody roof."

Why was it that it was always her that shut him up?

"_Breaking news! Local weather department has confirmed the low pressure area sighted earlier has turned into a hurricane. Currently having speeds of XXX kmph, it is moving across XXX."_

"Kid, it looks like you might not make it home at this rate," the cab driver told her. "I don't fancy going into a hurricane."

"The place is far from here. There's a low percentage of the winds actually picking up in this area at this time." Kira saw the human's eyes flash before settling down into a blank stare. Her legs were crossed. "We're right beside a bloody mountain and I want to go home."

"Do you?" Mayuri quipped. "If this morning was any example, I'd say you'd rather stay away from the place."

The girl kept a blank expression. She risked a glance at the rear view mirror and saw that the driver had a resigned look. "Ne, Kuchiki."

The captain looked at her but gave no other indication that he heard her. Payback for that morning?

"Do the souls that go to Rukongai retain their memories?"

The sudden question made the Death Gods pause.

The winds picked up.

"That's it kid. Find a place to stay for the night. Just call ye'r parents and go home tomorrow." The cab driver parked the taxi and looked expectantly at the girl. "Sorry missie. I got a kid to feed."

Arieanne's lips twitched up. "I see. I'll be going then. Have a nice evening with your family."

"Same to you, kid. I hope you were right about what you said about the winds." With that, the cab sped off, leaving a rain-drenched (again) girl and twenty-six shinigami.

Arieanne watched the vehicle speed away and gave a small wave. She turned and started walking, her lips still curled up.

Bitterly.

Aizen was the only one that caught her whispering.

"Somehow, I doubt that would be the case."

_**--**_

The weather was being a total bitch.

That was what Bryce decided as she continued surfing the net. Save for the maid, she was the only one home, and that was the reason why their whole house was dark. She sighed, and worriedly looked over her phone. She had every reason to be. It was nearly midnight and no one was home yet. The girl sighed and stood to get some food from the kitchen –

Abruptly freezing and screaming when she saw the dripping wet figure beside her.

"You're so noisy," the figure hissed, taking a spot on the couch. "That's a really nice way of greeting a person who just got back from stressful competition…_outside _the house."

"Eh?" Bryce blinked stared at the dark figure.

"Try opening the light."

"No need, that tone was all I needed to know it was you Ria," the older sister muttered irritably, seeing the other black-clad figures. The figure chuckled. "So what happened to you? You look like you could use an umbrella."

"Could have, but did not," Arieanne agreed as she laid down on the couch. "I wonder why."

"Because you're such a lazy ass?" the older sneered, putting a bowl of steaming soup on the table beside her sister. She got a better look at what she was wearing. "Hey, how come your top looks like an oversized red shirt?"

"Because it is," was the dry reply. Bryce stuck her tongue out at her sister and went back to the computer, her back facing the rest of the souls. The two didn't say anything until a particularly loud clap of thunder roared. "Astraphobia?"

Bryce was huddled into a ball in front of the monitor. "Not funny."

"Not making fun of you." Bryce heard clanking chains and sound of slurped soup. There was silence in the room once more. "Hey Bryce."

The girl didn't even bother looking behind. "Yes?"

"How would being killed in a hurricane sound?"

"Too dramatic to actually happen in real life. Besides, nobody would go out in a hurricane without a proper reason. That's just being crazy," the older said, continuing to work on the keyboard.

"True," Arieanne snickered. "What about being mugged?"

"Pretty pathetic way to die, but it happens." Slurp, slurp. "Why are you asking me this stuff?"

"No particular reason." Clatter of spoons. "Say, what happens to people before they die?"

"You're in a freaky mode tonight, you know," Bryce commented but answered the question nonetheless. Their 'guests' were being quiet, she mused. "They say your life flashes in front of you before you die. And some lucky ones have their deepest wishes granted. Some impart great influence on others before they leave. Just because shinigami are chained to you means you're gonna go all psycho on me."

"Last question, then." Bryce heard Arieanne stand. "What _does_ it mean when you have twenty-six Death Gods chained to you?"

The older sighed and turned to face her sister…

"Ria, what are you – "

…immediately freezing when she saw _two _Arieanne's in front of her.

Her spoon clattered to the ground. "Arieanne…?"

"Try opening the light," the girl said, repeating her earlier statement. Bryce followed dumbly. Light flooded the living room, illuminating the twenty-six shinigami and the two Arieanne's – one was lying down on the couch, the other standing. The one not seeming to take a nap gave her a smile worthy of Aizen's praise. "Well?"

Upon seeing her outfit, Bryce immediately frowned. "Why pair those amazing pants with an oversized red shirt?"

"You don't bloody care about anything other than dolling me up, do you?" the girl mused, receiving an indignant glare. The look on both girls' faces softened. "Bryce, you're bloody good-looking, did you know that?"

"Yes," the older answered softly. Her eyes were trailing on the chain connecting the two Arieanne's chests. She also looked at the grave-looking shinigami.

Then it clicked.

"You were here to get _her_!?" Bryce growled, glaring at the hakama-clad people. Nobody answered. "But you didn't say anything! I didn't know about this!"

"_Nobody _knew about it," Arieanne cut in. "I kind of figured it out, and with what happened today, I think I bloody well earned the right to say I'm correct."

She snapped at the younger. "This isn't the time to…!"

"_How would being killed in a hurricane sound?"_

"The hurricane didn't even pass this way," Bryce muttered, eyes wide with shock. "But it passed…"

"The venue," the once-human nodded. "But that wasn't why I asked."

"Then why?" she blinked.

"I just wanted to," Arieanne shrugged. She grinned when her older sister twitched. "Hey, at least I die at home."

That statement of hers brought back the topic, just as she had done with the bathrooms. Tears started gushing out of Bryce's gray orbs as reality hit her full force. The older girl collapsed back into the chair and began crying uncontrollably.

"But…That…It's not fair!" she sobbed. "You can't!"

"I've always been saying I'd go first," the soul quipped in the same dry manner she had been using for the duration of the conversation. "Looks like I'm right again. Bloody hell."

"I also said I'd be following you soon after, right?" Bryce asked hopefully.

"Yeah, you will, like all of them. But _soon after _won't be for another sixty years or so," the soul snapped. "And if I heard that you committed suicide, I'd come back here and bloody kill you myself. Got that?"

The statement got most of the original souls blinking.

"But the chain…" Bryce hiccuped. "It's still connected."

"The 'Chain of Fate'," she sighed. "Won't be for long. And if I actually don't want to lead Hollows here, I'm going to break the already-damaged link and go with them. Them being the shinigami here."

Bryce rushed to her and attempted to grab her, failed, and went to grab the one on the sofa instead. Before she got a chance to say anything, her arms encircled her sister's body in a protective hug. "I won't let you."

"You're in no bloody position to be saying that. And would you _please _bloody get off? It hurts to see my corpse being mutilated."

"It's not yet a corpse!!"

Arieanne sighed and pointed to the place Bryce was holding. "If you hadn't noticed, I put on the red shirt over the blue top you made me wear. With good bloody reason, if you pardon the pun."

Bryce froze, for the umpteenth time that day, and looked down. Blood had poured out from the place the soul had indicated and was pooling on the couch.

"I just wanted to leave my mark," the soul said with a grin.

Hitsugaya Toushiro could not believe how she was handling the situation.

"No!" the older screamed in defiance. "We still haven't built our house yet! We said we'd have the same house with divisions! We haven't had children yet! You can't!!"

"Be bloody quiet, woman," Arieanne snapped. When she saw her hysterical sister, all she could do was sigh. "Looks like I won't be able to do that, now will I?"

Bryce was crying.

Arieanne's body was bleeding.

And her chain was breaking.

"Stop that, will you? We both know I bloody can't handle crying people." Finally, the younger of the two patted her sister's head awkwardly. Bryce sniffled. "At least I'm one of the 'few lucky people' you were talking about."

Bryce looked at her behind swollen lids.

"I had bloody much fun at the comp. I had no major squabbles with anyone. Edmund bloody kissed me." Arieanne had to grin when her sister retched. She continued counting off. "I got a bloody _compliment _from Holier-Than-Thou. And…"

"And…?" Bryce automatically prompted.

"We were all able to be in the same room without maiming anyone," she grinned. The older one had to laugh through her tears. "So see? I'm one of the lucky few. And just for the record, I'm seeing my whole life before me right now."

Even the captains were intrigued.

Arieanne ruffled her sister's hair. "So let me continue seeing it until I completely go, okay?"

"Huh?" Bryce lifted her head and looked at the soul's face. "Your whole life?"

And then, for the first time in more than how many years, Bryce saw her sister smile sincerely.

"Go see in front of a mirror."

While her sister's grip was limp, Arieanne bent over her own body and took her chain. "Believe me when I say I don't want to see you soon."

With that, she pulled the link apart.

The chains connecting the twenty-six shinigami to the body broke simultaneously, removing the restricting metal from the souls' necks. Arieanne went over to join them and out of nowhere, two Japanese sliding doors materialized.

"I guess I _was _right after all," the soul mused. She turned to the dumbstruck shinigami with the same playful grin she wore while she practiced. "Shall we be off then?"

Bryce was rooted to the spot as she watched in horror. The souls filed into the portal by order of their squads, leaving her sister to enter last with Ukitake. The doors started sliding closed.

Almost as an afterthought, Arieanne peeked over the wood and waved at her sister. "Bye bye!~~"

_**--**_

**crizarah: *falls flat on her face with a bang* How was it?? Too long?? Too short? (Are you crazy??) Too nonsensical? Tell me!**

**Yup, all these pages and no other major happenings here other than the girl's death o.O…Sorry if I hadn't portrayed the members of the Gotei Thirteen accurately; I've only watched random parts of Bleach…I don't even know what happens after "Turn Back the Pendulum Arc". TwT Feel free to correct me if you feel the need to ^-^v**

**Spanish and German translations I credit to the oh-so-wonderful internet, my siblings, and the authoress of "Blacks and Blues" (A Prince of Tennis fic), the wonderful **KoOri no HouKou**. The Japanese, I think I can safely say is all from my own vocabulary XD**

**Please review so that I'll know what you guys think of my first attempt at a Bleach fic.**


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